Category: Lifestyle

Island Journal

North Haven’s Hub by the Water

It’s an iconic rural image—a group of old-timers gathered around a general store’s woodstove, drinking coffee and swapping lies. For the island community of North Haven, that gathering spot was Waterman’s store, a stone’s throw from the ferry landing and the Fox Islands Thorofare anchorage, where the lobster fleet mingles… SEE MORE

Island Journal

Island Enlightenment in a Glass

On a chilly evening last year, Elaine and I were invited next door to the Chambers’ to enjoy their company and that of a dozen or so others of our broadly interesting neighbors and island visitors, all gathered around an outdoor woodfire. After a while our host, David, offered me a martini, a “Killer Botanist Gin Martini,” to be precise. SEE MORE

Island Journal

The Illustrator’s Island

Photos by Claire Dibble Brigadoon. Twice during conversation on a February morning, illustrator Scott Nash compared the residency program he and his wife, artist Nancy Gibson-Nash, set up on Peaks Island to that mythical Scottish village. True, the five or so-minute drive from the ferry terminal to the north end… SEE MORE

Island Journal

An Old Salt, An Old Way of Life

Illustrations by Leslie Bowman  Five degrees above zero and the diesel motor chugged. My fingers were wet and numb and my hands couldn’t work the clasp on the chain-link bag of mussels that hung dripping salt water and mud onto my hood, shoulders, and face. My blue vinyl gloves had… SEE MORE

Island Journal

Stonington Siblings Modernize Lobster Business

In the early 2000s, Travis Fifield left his hometown of Stonington for college and then a lucrative career with General Electric’s power plant construction division in Windsor, Conn. Funny thing: He chose to live and work within a day’s driving distance of Stonington because a little voice in his head… SEE MORE
shack in harbor

Island Journal

Coldwater Coast

Coldwater Coast By Jon Keller The seagull hangs lifeless and gaunt from a rope. The wind is hard out of the east, leaping over the riprap causeway and flipping the water into neat lines of black and silver. The dead seagull twists in the wind, spins, its eyes now as… SEE MORE
close up of man wearing headset

Island Journal

Making It Here: The Island Telecommuter

Making It Here: The Island Telecommuter Christopher Loder works for IBM from Chebeague. BY JENNIFER VAN ALLEN PHOTOS BY GABE SOUZA After decades of painstaking planning, Christopher and Caroline Loder moved to Chebeague Island in 2013, intending to work remotely and give their three  children a life that wasn’t possible… SEE MORE
two lobster boats

Island Journal

Race day in Casco Bay

Race Day in Casco Bay George Ross enjoys the best seat in the house for the race.    By Tom Groening Photos by Katie Johnson I’m squatting in the small cockpit of an outboard-powered sailboat racing across Casco Bay. Lightning bolts are striking the mainland and islands to our west.… SEE MORE
two hunters in the woods

Island Journal

One Deer, Two Islands

One Deer, Two Islands Hunting on Frenchboro creates logistical obstacles unlike any on mainland. Story and photos By Scott Sell Zach Lunt’s hands are covered in blood and bile and fur. “The fun part is over for me,” he says, midway through field-dressing the buck he just shot. “It’s all… SEE MORE